An American college student was jailed for eight months in a hellish Chinese prison and feared the death penalty after being accused of smoking a marijuana joint and sharing it with friends, DailyMail.com can reveal.
Matthew Fellows, 23, was detained for eight months in Nanjing Detention Center, accused of four counts of drug trafficking and unable to speak to his family.
His ordeal finally ended on Sunday after he was cleared of all charges.
Fellows, from Gambrills, Maryland, returned to the U.S. on Monday, on his way to an emotional reunion with the family who fought behind the scenes to have him freed.
DailyMail.com has learned that Matthew was thrown in jail after being set up by a jealous love rival at his college who had eyes on his Russian girlfriend.
The student, nicknamed Thor due to his long blond hair and 6ft 2in athletic frame, was released on Saturday and flew back to the US from Nanjing, China via Seoul in South Korea early Monday.
He landed in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon before switching planes and flying to Washington DC, arriving on Tuesday.
While on his journey Matthew was able to update his Facebook page, he wrote: ‘I haven’t worn shoes in 8 months let alone walking for more than three minutes. My feet hurt and so do all the muscles associated foot movement in my lower legs. I’ll get the hang of strolling around on my feet after a few days.’
Matthew Fellows, 23, was detained for eight months in Nanjing, China after a love rival, who had eyes on Matthew’s Russian model girlfriend Victoria, falsely accused him of smoking a marijuana joint and then sharing the drug with friends
Investigators learned a jealous unknown acquaintance had called the police to make the false report. The acquaintance was later revealed to have been jealous of Matthew’s relationship with a model called Victoria (pictured with Matthew) and wanted him out of the way
His parents Donna and Bill Fellows (pictured), who haven’t spoken to or seen their son in eight months, are planning a welcome party at the airport. Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, Donna said: ‘We’re absolutely thrilled, we can’t wait to get him home and smother him with love and hugs. It’s been a traumatic time for the entire family, we’re just glad it’s over’
The college student was detained for eight months in Nanjing Detention Center, accused of four counts of drug trafficking and unable to speak to his family
His parents Donna and Bill Fellows, who haven’t spoken to or seen their son in eight months, are planning a welcome party at the airport.
Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com of their immense relief at seeing Matthew released, Donna, 54, said: ‘We’re absolutely thrilled, we can’t wait to get him home and smother him with love and hugs. It’s been a traumatic time for the entire family, we’re just glad it’s over.’
They had not risked publicizing his plight in case it made his situation worse.
Matthew, from Gambrills, Maryland, who speaks fluent Mandarin, had originally traveled to China to teach English to schoolchildren before landing a place at a university there.
The high school wrestling and gymnastics champion fell in love with Chinese culture and people and immersed himself in society.
But his parents say that as a tall, handsome Westerner, some in his college group may have harbored jealousy and resentment towards him.
Investigators hired by the family to expedite his release told them that they discovered an unknown acquaintance had called the police to make a false report that Matthew had been smoking marijuana and passing it around to people at a university gathering.
The acquaintance was later revealed to have been jealous of Matthew’s relationship with a pretty Russian model called Victoria and wanted him out of the way.
Under Chinese law passing drugs to others is considered a serious trafficking offense.
Chinese authorities have a zero tolerance policy towards drug offenses and more than two counts can carry the death penalty. Matthew faced four counts.
Matthew was confined in an 18x11ft cell with 15 other men at Nanjing Detention Center, forced to sleep on the concrete floor with just one blanket and his only meal each day was a bowl of rice and cup of watery porridge
The student, nicknamed Thor due to his long blond hair and 6ft 2in athletic frame, was finally released on Saturday and flew back to the US from Nanjing, China via Seoul. He landed in LA on Monday afternoon before switching planes and flying to D.C., arriving on Tuesday
The Fellows didn’t want the risk of publicizing their son’s plight in case it made his situation in China worse
As a result of the allegations Matthew and his family faced a nightmare eight months.
Matthew was confined in an 18x11ft cell with 15 other men at Nanjing Detention Center, forced to sleep on the concrete floor with just one blanket and his only meal each day was a bowl of rice and cup of watery porridge.
Inmates could only wash using water from a bucket.
Matthew wasn’t allowed any phone calls or visitors, other than a half hour meeting once a month with an official from the U.S. Consulate.
Donna and Bill were left completely in the dark as to what had happened, for how long their son would be detained and what they should do next.
Eventually after four weeks the US Consulate informed them of the grim reality of their son’s predicament.
And it was only through a series of prison letters that trickled in from Matthew that his parents learned how their son was surviving behind bars.
His imprisonment took everyone by surprise.
Stephen Komorek, Operations Director at Conflict International’s New York office, who was instrumental in getting Matthew released, told DailyMail.com that the student’s situation was grim.
‘In some places in China you can get the death penalty for as few as two counts of drug trafficking, Mr Fellows had four, they have a zero tolerance approach,’ he said.
Matthew, from Gambrills, Maryland, who speaks fluent Mandarin, had originally traveled to China to teach English to schoolchildren before landing a place at a university there
It was only through a series of prison letters that trickled in from Matthew that his parents learned how their son was surviving behind bars.
‘The Fellows were completely distraught by this as you might imagine, fearful for their son’s life.
‘We immediately contacted our assets within the Chinese government and were able to quickly ascertain what had happened to Mr Fellows.
‘We then conducted our own investigation and working with the local authorities and court system, we managed to get to the truth.’
Komorek, also a member of the World Association of Detectives, says his team was also able to establish that a love rival of Matthew made false claims of a crime to police.
Stephen Komorek (pictured), Operations Director at Conflict International’s New York office, who was instrumental in getting Matthew released, told DailyMail.com that the student’s situation was grim
‘We discovered that there was a local interest in Mr Fellow’s Russian girlfriend Victoria,’ he said.
‘Crimes were reported to the local police because of a romantic rival he was even unaware of.
‘We quickly came to learn that the crimes Mr Fellows was accused of, he did not commit.’
Komorek said his investigators worked closely with the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai, the US Embassy in Beijing, the Chinese government and also Maryland Senator Ben Cardin’s office, among others, to get Matthew released.
He added: ‘Luckily the judge in the case was able to see the evidence we brought forward and the charges were dropped.
‘We want to thank the Chinese government for taking care of our citizen and working with us to get to the truth.’
Conflict International is a London-based intelligence, investigation and security agency providing investigation and surveillance services to clients worldwide.
Komorek provided his service pro bono after hearing the Fellows family’s heartbreaking story.
After receiving evidence from Komorek’s team and a lengthy court process, a judge ultimately decided there was no validity to the drugs allegations against Matthew and all charges were dropped.
The eight months Matthew had already served were put down on his record as credit for his connection to the theft of a cell phone from a nightclub a year before.
Matthew had previously paid a $600 fine when a friend asked him to pass an unattended phone he saw on a table, which the friend then pocketed.
The move by the judge means that Matthew is banned from China for life.